Chair.



M. A. BREWER.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29. m3.

Patented Ap r. 20, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

0 1 fifiz 2 7 o 10 THE NORR s PETERS (20., PHOTOLITHOH WASHINGTON. D. C.

M. A. BREWER.

CHAIR.

APPLICATION mzo movie. 1913.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

2 SHBETB-SHEET 3.

n s'rarns rnrnn men MOULTRE A. BREWER, OF CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA.

CHAIR.

Application filed November 29, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MOULTRE A. BREWER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Concord, in the county of Cabarrus and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved chair, and the principal object of the invention is to so construct the chair that the back may be folded and the seats swung to one side and lowered so that there may be provided room between the chairs for people to walk.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide improved means for releasably holding the seat and back sections in their proper position.

Another object of the invention is to s construct the releasing means that it may be operated as a foot treadle and the chair then folded, thus permitting both hands to be used when folding the chair.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of the chair in position for use; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the chair in position for use; Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the chair in the folded position; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the chair in the folded position; Fig. 7 is a sectional View taken along the line 77 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 88 of Fig. 6.

This chair is provided with a standard 10 which is secured to the floor by means of the base 11. A shoulder 12 is formed intermediate the height of the standard and forms a support for the seat holder 13 which is provided with a flange 14 at one side. This seat holder 13 is positioned in front of the recess 15 which is cut in the standard to receive the pivotally mounted block 16. A cross bar 17 is positioned above the recess 15 and extends parallel to a second cross bar 18 positioned at the upper end of the standard.

The seat 19 is provided with a longitudinally-extending supporting bar 20 which is pivotally connected with the block 16 by means of the pin 21 so that the seat may be swung down to the position shown in Fig. 5 after the block 16 has been turned to move the seat off of the holder 13. An opening Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Serial No. 803,741.

22 is formed in the bar 20 and registers with an opening 23 formed in the holder 13 so that a latch may pass through these alined openings and releasably hold the seat in the extended position.

The latch 24 is pivotally connected with the lower face of the holder by means of the pivot bracket 25 and extends through the guiding eye 26 with its outer arm 27 normally held in the position shown in Fig. 5 by means of the spring 28. The latch is connected with the foot treadle by means of a flexible connection, such as the wire 30, so that when the foot is placed upon the treadle, the latch may be moved to release the bar 20 and permit the seat to be swung to one side.

The back comprises two side sections 31 and 32 which are pivotally mounted between the cross bars 17 and 18 and are limited in their outer pivotal movement by the pins 3 and 34. The pins 34 are carried by the back sections and enter pockets 35 formed in the standard 10, and the pins 33 are carried by the cross bar 18 and engage the edge portions of the back sections, as shown in Fig. 2. The arms 36 are pivotally connected with hinged blocks 87 carried by the back sections, and are provided with longitudinally-extending pockets 38 to permit the arm supports 39 to be folded.

A latch has been provided for releasably holding the back in an extended position and is operated by the treadle 29 which operates the latch 24. This latch 24 comprises a rocker pin 40 which carries the rigidlymounted pawls 41 and 42. These pawls are so located that they may be swung to permit their inner ends to pass through notches 43 formed in the back sections and thus permit the back sections to be moved from one position to another. A flexible connection such as the wire 44 connects the treadle 29 with the pawl 42 so that the back latch may be swung against the tension of the spring 45 to move the latch to a position to release the back sections. It is, of course, obvious that if desired, rods could be used instead of wires 30 and 44, but it is preferred to use flexible connections.

The operation of this chair is as follows: When the chairs are in use, the seat rests upon the holder 13 and the back sections are in the extended position shown in Fig. 1 with the arm supports 39 removably connected with the seat. If it is desired to have the audience leave rapidly, or if it is desired to sweep the theater floor, the treadle 29 is operated to move the latches to a released position and the arms can then be raised and the back sections turned to the position shown in Fig. 5. The seat is then swung to one side and permitted to drop to the position shown more clearly in Fig. 6. The people can then walk between the seats and it is not necessary for them to all move toward the aisles when passing out of the theater. This prevents the aisles from being quickly filled and therefore the theater can be emptied a great deal sooner than would ordinarily be the case. It should also be noted that when cleaning the theater, the seats can be folded as already described, and the sweepers can then very easily walk between the seats and clean the floor of the theater. After the theater has been cleaned, the seat is first raised and swung to the position shown in Fig. 1; the back sections are then extended to the position shown in this figure and the arm supportsconnected with the seat. This construction also permits the chairs to be folded when shipping the chairs and therefore the chairs will take up a comparatively small amount of space and be compactly piled in the vehicle in which they are placed.

What is claimed is:

1. A folding chair comprising a standard provided with a cut-out portion and with a shoulder adjacent the lower edge of said cut-out portion, a seat holder carried by said shoulder, a block pivotally mounted in said cut-out portion, a seat pivotally eonnected with said block and resting upon said seat holder when in an extended position, a latch for releasably retaining said seat upon said holder, back sectlons pivotally connected with said standard, a latch for releasably holding said back sections in an extended position, and means for operating said latches.

. 2. A folding chair comprising a standard, a block pivotally connected with said standard, a seat pivotally connected with said block, a latch for releasably holding said seat in an extended position, back sections pivotally connected with said standard, a latch for releasably holding said back sections in an extended position, and means for simultaneously operating said latches.

3. folding chair comprising a standard, a seat, means connecting said seat with said standard for permitting said seat to have vertical and horizontal pivotal movement, back sections pivotally connected with said standard, a latch carried by said standard releasably holding said back sections in an extended position, a second latch pivotally carried by said standard for releasably holding said seat in an extended position, an operating element carried by said standard, and means connecting said operating element with said latches for moving said latches to release said back sections and seat to permit said back sections and seat to be moved to a folded position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MOULTRE A. BREWER. Witnesses 'BENJAMIN M. HOWIE,

CALEB H. Cox.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. G. 

